Show at the Museum of History in St. Petersburg

This weekend we're doing an antique show at the Museum of History in St. Pete. It's being run by the same promoters who do the show at the Coliseum (and who are presently dealers with us at Patty and Friends Antiques). It's a small show due to the venue - we'll all be set up amongst the museum's exhibits. I know it will be a challenge but I also think it will be a fascinating opportunity to promote the city's museum and its rich history. It's a natural extension to have an antique show at the same location, to my mind.

I'll be helping Bob to set up our booth on Friday; but he will be manning the space by himself during the 2-day event, as I'll be working at the shop.

In other news, I have been working on creating the Facebook page for the Patty and Friends Antique Village (note the rebranding - part of the mall's 30th anniversary celebration coming up later this month). I am on a learning curve with this project, but having fun as I do it. (Er, note the number of Fans that Patty's has - please feel free to join us!)

And lastly, I've secured the final spot in the "red house" area of Patty and Friends where I work most of the time as our secondary booth space. I'll be preparing it - painting and installing some lighting - and slowly moving over from our upstairs booth space from the main building. This will allow me to monitor a sales area of our own while I'm working, and allow Bob and I to have a presence in both buildings. It also means that the red house, which had been a furniture gallery just a scant few months ago, will have made its conversion complete, once again, into an antique shop. I'm glad to be a part of that healthy growth and change.

And today's word is SKOOKUM

I admit I resorted to the Wikipedia listing, after not getting the spelling right on the first couple of tries. What I see in the store are Indian dolls made for the tourist trade, dating to many different ages. I did find a terrific resource from the Wikipedia page that is devoted entirely to the subject.

It's not a type of item that I personally find to be of interest, but since there are such a number of these dolls in the store - and of such variety - I knew that it was worthwhile that I read a bit more about them.

Comes under the category of "whaddya know"?

Patty and Friends Antiques and what I'm doing there

I have the pleasure to be a part of the staff of Patty and Friends Antiques in St. Petersburg, where Bob and I have booth space. It is so rare in this life to be able to work in a field that is also your passion - I can say that this is the first time it's happened to me.

It's a dynamic place, with many recent changes as the mall absorbed dealers from a store that closed elsewhere in St. Pete; it's those additions that necessitated the extra staffing that allowed me to come aboard as a member. I find that every single day that I work I get the opportunity to learn about another aspect of collectibles and what people find desirable and valuable. Whether it's Depression glass, celluloid animals, restored furniture, or vintage designer jewelry, I get to go to school every day that I show up to work.

I took the initiative to create a Facebook page for Patty and Friends, and slowly I'm learning about how to manage it as an informational and promotional tool for the store. Just as I learned about the building of my own website and store on eCrater; this very blog, and those darn Squidoo pages, I am determined to make the Facebook page yet another destination for Patty and Friends' fans and customers.